by Douglas Steinberg

AT A MEETING right after Labor Day, Princeton University's molecular biology department surveyed the plans of its recently graduated seniors, and professor Shirley M. Tilghman wasn't happy with the results. Thirty-one out of 72 students awarded bachelor's degrees last June were going to medical school, eight planned to do community-service work - and only three were heading directly for Ph.D. or M.D.-Ph.D. programs.

Recalling the meeting, Tilghman notes that the cohort of doctoral wanna-bes has never topped 10 percent of graduates. But she describes this year's yield as the worst ever. "It worries me because the future of science needs these kids opting to do science," she says. "And they're not opting to."

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